There was a time when I lived in a place where, if it snowed… boy did it snow! Massive drifts of the beautiful white stuff was the norm. And being snowed in the house was not unusual. The car needed snow chains on to get anywhere and the boot of it was always weighted down… for extra traction.

They don’t make snow like they used to, these days.

I live in a vale that seems to be in a no man’s land… and bang in between weather systems. To the north and south of us there is weather. Where we are, we can expect the exact opposite of what others are getting.

This is not to say that we don’t get some fabulous weather and skies. We have big skies here. But, they can threaten snow, thunderstorms and clear off just as quickly as they appeared.

And sometimes it’s too cold to snow. The immediate world is just frozen solid.

We seem to have our very own weather system.

I happen to love snow. Hey, who’d have thought it?

I love the quiet and peacefulness that it brings. That sense of solitude. The dull sound of the traffic as it slowly rolls past our cottage, when we have heavy snow

The sundown barn owl that looks for its tea over the long grass, protruding from the snow, at the edge of the field

The footprints in the snow… human and animal

The quality of light that a layer of thick snow radiates

Walks at night in the snow… no torches required. Team it with a full moon… perfection

Battling my way through a blizzard

The beautiful landscapes just waiting to be photographed, painted and written about

If you’re well wrapped up against the elements there is no better thing than trudging through the snow… and a great work out for the leg muscles as well. The freezing, clear air creeps into your body and gives you a detox. You’re pitted against nature and it’s a battle to survive. That element of danger is addictive and yet terrifying. Snow deserves respect.

And then when you make it back home, there’s the tea and crumpets to savour. Don’t worry about the calories… you’ve just done your exercise for the day.

So, bring on the snow I say. I want to walk and play and see what other animals have been out playing and walking in it.

I love to decoupage things. When I spotted this great post I had to reblog on here.
I love what Lisa has done to this box.
It’s given me some more ideas… watch this space.
Thanks for dropping by.
Dorne x

My latest project was a makeover for a sad little box that I got at the thrift store so long ago and sat in the basement forever. I think I paid less than $5 for it and it is a good thing because the supplies cost a little more than I would have liked.

But, boy, do I love the results!

Here are some of my inspiration pictures.

Here is the before. Sad little duckies…..

I took the whole thing apart, removing the hardware and peeling off all the lose paper.

What a mess! But in that mess was pure French gold!

I applied plain brown kraft paper to the inside of the chip board pieces using a watered down wood glue.

And added a French script fabric to the outsides and trimmed with a faux leather fabric. Both of these fabrics were on the clearance rack at the fabric…

I can’t get over this amazing shot by Candice-Marie. How beautiful is nature? I have a long, long way to go with my photography and this inspires me to learn more and experiment.
So, I’m reblogging on here. Enjoy and thanks to Candice – Marie for posting. x

New people have shown up on here and started following and this got me thinking. Very dangerous that for this butterfly brain. Perhaps, this blog deserves to live. Some of you may recall I have been keeping it – letting it go – for a while now.

I already blog on my main blog Write Dorne, but maybe my inner child is asking for some extra time to play. I’m not quite ready to grow up – nor go home for bedtime.

I’m sorting through the old toys and boxes in the attics. Memories are flooding back and I’m wondering do I still fit into that beautiful old, favourite dress? If not, let’s make some alterations – or make it into something else completely different.

Let’s get creative!

I’ll getthepaintsout andpaintto myheart’scontent. And all of those photographs may find somewhere to live – rather than just in a computer folder.

And when I’ve done making art on my laptop – let’s be brave and put it up on here.

Let’s play and see what happens, who comes to join in and what games it leads to.

Oh, if only days lasted for longer than 24 hours; we didn’t need to sleep, do chores and some of us were actually organised!

I don’t pop up on here, nor my sister blog Write Dorne, as often as I would like. So, here’s two thoughts for today.

Article from bloglovin

If nothing else I make sure of the dirty feet, messy hair and sparkling eyes.

Join me in having dirty feet today and look for the joy in life. Turn off the telly and radio. Back away from that newspaper and leave the gloomers and doomers to their own misery. Yes, the world is going mad… in parts; but, there are some good things out there.